Interesting ideas from BreakingPoint’s social media campaign

Interesting ideas from BreakingPoint’s social media campaign
Interesting ideas from BreakingPoint's social media campaign that I found in SmartBrief on Social Media
http://www.smartbrief.com/servlet/wireless?issueid=B1E91673-3459-433D-AEE2-799C4BF6FB69&sid=1af10580-85af-4384-9077-83cbc266bda3
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30946#

Step #1. Create blog to start and join online conversations Based on observation of online conversations related to your industry. Scan the Web, the blogosphere, online forums and communities to find conversations relevant to your industry and audience.
Consolidate into an RSS feed to review. Scanning tools included:o TweetScan, for Twitter postso Google Alerts for industry termso Boardtracker.com, which monitors technology forums and message boards- When the scanning tools found a relevant conversation, such as a blog post, a team member should join that conversation.
Comment on the blog post and point readers to content on the same topic at the company blog.
Use the company blog to break stories with the potential to go viral. Stories can generate links from other industry blogs and articles in major trade publications.

Step #2. Establish a Twitter account Supplement the company blog with a company Twitter account. It allows you to post shorter, more frequent updatesCompany “tweets” included:- Notices of new blog posts, webinars- Fun entries (e.g., trivia questions, quizzes)- Informal focus group questions (a poll of Twitter followers about potential names for the company newsletter)Use scanning tools to find and participate in Twitter conversations relevant to your industry.
Set up alerts to find key terms and search for competitors’ names People complain on Twitter and search for solutions.Re-tweet relevant information found through scans, such as reports or interesting industry news. Start conversations

Step #3. Create LinkedIn group Form groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. Establish the group as an open forum to discuss issues. Group members should start conversations among themselves for advice, reviews and suggestions for industry eventsJoining discussions only when sharing relevant industry news, blog posts or other content to keep members engaged.

Step #4. Modify press release strategy for blogger coverage - Release at least one new press release each week.- To encourage inbound links, press releases should be short and contain links to sections of the company website. - Shift their release time from 8 a.m. Eastern time to late morning/early afternoon, when West Coast bloggers were most likely to begin scanning for news. - Publish press releases using a service called PitchEngine, and post releases to social media channels, such as their Twitter feed and LinkedIn group.

Step #5. Promote social media channels on company website and in email signatures To encourage customers and prospects to participate in their social media channels,
links to different accounts from the company’s website and in email signatures. Nnews section of the website should includ links to the company’s Twitter feed and LinkedIn group under a “join us” headline.
Include updates from the company Twitter account in the right-hand column of the company blog.Employees’ email signatures could include links to the blog, Twitter account or LinkedIn group, along with name, email address and phone number.

Step #6. Measure growth of social media accounts and Web traffic Measure the contribution social media efforts made to the company’s marketing and sales activity.
Track metrics to determine the growth of their various social media channels, such as:o Unique blog page viewso Twitter followerso LinkedIn group membersAt the same time track marketing metrics, such as:o Unique website visitorso Traffic generated by SEOo Leadso Leads by source (inbound Web, email, trade shows, seminars)o Marketing-influenced pipeline activity, by sourceWhen comparing the metrics side-by-side, looked for correlations between activity in social media outlets and web activity.

Creative samples from BreakingPoint’s social media campaign
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/cs/breakingpoint/study.html

BoardTracker
http://www.boardtracker.com/

PitchEngine
http://www.pitchengine.com

TweetScan
http://www.tweetscan.com

BreakingPoint
http://www.breakingpoint.com